Hand Saws

[Mark Meckes]

Q. Have you tried a tree pruning saw to harvest bamboo?

Yes, I always have one with my grove work kit.
Felco is the most commonly available quality brand (in the USA).

I just bought a Corona razor-teeth tree branch pruning saw at Home Depot ($16?)and it cuts well but I think the teeth are set too wide ( maybe the metal blade is thicker then the Felco).

For smaller cuts the coping saw works well.

For harvesting culms less then 3/4" (2cm), I prefer to use long-handled (sharpened) lopers, and cut at an angle, as far into the ground as possible.

Mark

[Guest]

From: Gary Rich
mark,
i use a vaughn bear saw and they are great-more teeth,finer teeth and thinner blade.
i buy them in the power tool section of home depot and they
come:medium/coarse,fine and extra fine. I use the extra fine for vases and coarse cut for culm cutting. they are great and cost $20 and under.
vamanos bambuseros,
gary

[Mark Mortimer]

Hi all. Following with interest all the messages.
Does anyone use one of those pruning saws which have a doulble line of teeth. They are both straight in a line, with no set, the two lines enabling the sawdust to be brought out of the cut. I don't use one but i was wondering if it was any good at cutting without ripping fibres.
Abrazos, Mark (the other one)

[Mark Meckes]

Here's a pic of a Corona hand pruning saw.
http://www.bamboocraft.net/workshop/data/506/thumbs/1Mvc-119f.jpg
See larger pic (http://www.bamboocraft.net/workshop/showphoto.php?photo=608)
There are many makes and brands available and I would'nt say that Corona is the best of these saws, more like middle of the road, but they are readily available at hardware stores like home depot.
Though I think it makes a wider cut then neccessary, the cut is fairly clean, though it can cause frayed cuts on less than 2"diameter bamboo.
It's a pull action.
I only use it for harvesting the bamboo, not for other work.
It cut Moso to 5 inch diameter very nicely though it was brand new at the time.
Now it needs sharpening!
http://www.bamboocraft.net/workshop/data/506/thumbs/1Mvc-120f.jpg See larger pic (http://www.bamboocraft.net/workshop/showphoto.php?photo=609)

Edit ... bye bye Corona
See thread : Pull-type Handsaws for cutting bamboo (http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1090)